A/N: Sorry that I didn't post this sooner. My computer, for some reason, wouldn't work when I clicked on the Login button, but it's working now, thank goodness. Enjoy.
When I first met Bella Swan, I was a newborn, not even aware of what was going on. That seems to be the case for a lot of the things I do. But my first memory of her is scraping my knee in her dad's driveway and crying my outs out; this pretty little girl with long brown hair in braids and chubby cheeks came over to me and bent down beside me, wrapping her twig arms around me. That instantly dried my tears up, and from the moment I looked into her big brown eyes, I was hooked instantly. She was all I could see, no other girls really made the impact on me that she did. I mean, sure, I could have dated other girls, and I did, believe me, but they just didn't matter to me as much as she did.
Every summer when she visited, and the occasional Christmas, which equaled seven visits total, I'd hop up and down in my room, shrieking with excitement over seeing Bella Swan again; my parents just shrugged and smiled at my rambunctious behavior. Sure, my mom tried to tell me that I'd meet another girl and then Bella Swan would still be my very best friend, but my dad knew that there wouldn't be another girl for me, just like mom was the only woman he'd ever love. Us Black men chose the woman for us, and there was no going back from that. I was ecstatic to know that Bella would always be with me, though at four years old, you don't really understand what that means. I just thought we'd continue having sleepovers or eating ice cream on the back of Charlie's police cruiser. I never had the idea that it could be so much better.
When mom died, I wanted Bella there so she could hug me again and make it all better; I hadn't forgotten that first time I'd been comforted by her amazing ability to hug. Dad tried to tell me that Bella couldn't come to us so soon; her mom didn't want her to visit anymore, and she wouldn't be coming back ever again. I couldn't accept that. So he had Charlie take me home to his house, and Charlie called Bella's mother so that I could talk to Bella. I'm assuming she didn't like it, but she let me talk to Bella anyway. We stayed on the phone for three hours while I cried and begged for my mother to come home, and she whispered words of comfort to me. I was happy that I could talk to her, but it ended all too soon.
The next time I saw her, she looked like a woman. I saw a shy, unsure, klutzy beautiful girl that made my heart skip and wholly unfamiliar feelings wash over me. Puppy love turned into real love that day, or so I'd like to think.
Then Edward Cullen came along, ruining every plan I'd had to ask her out.
So there I was, on the sidelines, watching as Edward Cullen kept the girl I loved away from me, and my family and friends; Billy liked the Cullens well enough, or at least he liked the doctor who was not a bad guy, I'll admit, and the doc's wife who was a total passive lady, but the kids were odd and strange and messed-up in the head. They'd been adopted from homes that weren't acceptable for kids to live in by any stretch of the word. Mentally unbalanced, is a word I heard often when around the company of the tribal Elders.
But then, miracle of miracle! Edward and his family left Forks permanently and I was free to woo Bella as I pleased. But I was a total romantic at heart, and I wanted to see from a third-party perspective exactly what she felt towards Cullen, so I pretended to be someone who could be sympathetic to her plight, and surprisingly, she didn't seem to care about him much at all. It was like he was just a first boyfriend, which aren't usually that serious. I couldn't believe my luck. And even though I wanted so badly to come out and say "I love you!" right then and there, I couldn't because she might realize that oh, she doesn't like Jacob Black like that, so let him down easily. I'm not that stupid.
So my big plan to woo her was to have her meet me at a fancy restaurant and have a date. Of course, I had no guarantee that she'd even meet me in the first place, but Bella Swan was worth the risk and vulnerability. And then…she met me, and here I was thinking that she didn't really want me after all, just like I'd thought, but when we kissed, everything made sense. She'd fallen for who I am, not my name, though it certainly helped sway her to my cause. That night was one of the best nights of my life, and we ended that on the pier under the stars, which is romantic in and of itself.
Now, I realize that Bella and I might not last forever, but I'm going to attempt to be with her as long as I can and be as happy as I can be before something tries to take her away from me. I can't do that again. I'm not trying to be melodramatic or anything like that, but I already lived through her being taken away for years, and it wasn't a very fun time. She meant a lot to me as a kid, and being in a romantic relationship with her now has made that bond become even more entangled…in a good way. I'm more emotionally invested with this girl, and there's just no way that I can handle a plot twist.
MEANWHILE…
After I'd gotten home from the trip to First Beach, I'd helped Charlie attempt to make my famous lasagna because I'm not going to live here forever, and he needs to learn how to be semi-self-sufficient when I do move out. It didn't work out as well as I'd hoped, but enough that we were able to scrape together some semblance of a dinner. Then Charlie had gone to bed, leaving me to read a new book I'd gotten; then the phone began to ring, and at 11 pm, I couldn't think of anyone besides Jake who would want to call.
But it wasn't Jake.
"Hello?"
"Bella, I'm so glad I got a hold of you."
A/N: Okay, so I'm going to a wedding in another state tomorrow, so I'll be gone for most of the weekend. I'll try to write something out, but I probably won't be able to post until either late Sunday night or Monday. Either way, enjoy this really small chapter.
